On Monday, May 12 in Washington, President Donald Trump appointed two senior officials from the Justice Department, Paul Perkins and Brian Nieves, to take leadership roles overseeing the operations of the Library of Congress. The appointments came after Trump dismissed Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden last week, but as a legislative-branch entity, the Library of Congress has yet to obtain guidance from Congress on the next steps.
Perkins, who serves as associate deputy attorney general, was designated as acting register of copyrights, while Nieves, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s chief of staff, was appointed as acting deputy librarian; however, both were denied entry to their offices and departed on Monday morning. The Library of Congress holds over 178 million items and requires Senate confirmation for the librarian, a role Blanche, Trump’s former hush money trial attorney, is set to fill after Hayden’s removal.
New York Democrat Rep. Joe Morelle condemned the dismissals as a threat to congressional autonomy and requested that the Library of Congress inspector general look into whether any unauthorized access to sensitive congressional information occurred.
